In an effort to keep their heads above “water”, Disney and 20th Century have successfully secured a release date for Avatar: The Way of Water in China.
The original Avatar was extremely popular in China, generating $261,829,978 million over the course of three releases since 2010. Having the sequel screen in China (even with only half of the theaters currently open due to COVID-19 concerns) will most certainly help the film financially.
Director James Cameron previously stated that he believes that The Way of Water must gross close to Two Billion worldwide to be profitable.
According to Variety, Cameron reportedly told Disney executives that “you have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.”
Very few Hollywood films have been brought into the country over the past year, making the move a surprising one, especially considering the fact that seven consecutive Marvel films (and counting) have been banned from the country’s theaters.
Avatar: The Way of Water will debut in cinemas in China (and North America) on December 16.